New Delhi, Oct. 27 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down hard on the Union government and the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for failing to act against pharmaceutical companies allegedly manufacturing and selling critical antifungal drug Liposomal Amphotericin B under expired emergency authorisations granted during the Covid-19 pandemic, asking what regulatory officials had been doing for five years while the drug was being sold without clinical trials and regulatory oversight.

"What were your officers doing for five years when these drugs were being sold without clinical trials and other regulatory requirements? Were they sleeping or were their hands greased?" a bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar...